Friday, July 25, 2008

Zbigniew Brzezinski was interviewed two days ago on MSNBC, where his daughter Mika works as a newscaster. Brzezinski pere was national security adviser to US president Carter when that administration began American support for the Afghan mujaheddin. Asked about the situation in Afghanistan today, he replied:

"I think there's a real risk that the Afghans, who welcomed us when we came in to overthrow the Taliban and who were grateful to us for helping them against the Soviets, will now turn against us because they see us increasingly as foreigners with guns on their soil trying to transform their society"...

"We have to bear in mind that this is a very traditional society. Some parts of Afghanistan are modern, like the major cities, Kabul, but much of it is really late Medieval. And increasingly looks as if we're trying to transform the society from the top down, using military force. And that's a prescription for disaster," he said.

When asked about the alternatives, Brzezinski said the US has to start making distinction between the Taliban and the Al Qaeda and they should not be treated in the same boat.